Park City, Utah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Park City
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City
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Overlooking Park City in November 2013
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Location in Summit County and the state of Utah
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| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Summit Wasatch |
| Founded | 1869 |
| Named for | Parley's Park |
| Area | |
| • Total | 19.99 sq mi (51.77 km2) |
| • Land | 19.99 sq mi (51.76 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,936 ft (2,114 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 8,396 |
| • Density | 420.1/sq mi (162.21/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (Mountain) |
| ZIP Codes |
84060, 84068, 84098
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| Area code | 435 |
| FIPS code | 49-58070 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2411372 |
| Website | www.parkcity.org |
Park City is a city in Utah, United States. It's mostly in Summit County, with a small part in Wasatch County. Park City is about 32 miles (51 km) southeast of Salt Lake City. In 2020, about 8,396 people lived here. However, many more tourists visit than people who live there permanently.
After its mining industry slowed down, Park City became popular again in the 1980s and 1990s. This happened because tourism grew a lot. In 2021, tourism brought in over $529 million to Utah's economy. A big part of this, about $80 million, came from the Sundance Film Festival.
The city has two main ski resorts: Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort. Park City Mountain Resort is now combined with Canyons Village. There's also a smaller resort called Woodward Park City, which is great for action sports. Both Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resorts were key places for ski and snowboarding events during the 2002 Winter Olympics. They are expected to host events again for the 2034 Winter Olympics. These resorts are easy to reach, even if they get a bit less snow than some others.
In 2015, Park City Ski Resort and Canyons resorts joined together. This made the largest ski area in the U.S. The resort now has 17 slopes, 14 bowls, and 300 trails. It also has 22 miles (35 km) of ski lifts.
Park City is also famous for other things. It hosts the Sundance Film Festival, the biggest independent film festival in the U.S. It's also home to the United States Ski Team and a training center for the Australian Freestyle Ski Team. You can find many factory outlet stores here. The Utah Olympic Park has the 2002 Olympic bobsled/skeleton/luge track. There are also many golf courses.
Some scenes from the 1994 movie Dumb and Dumber were filmed in Park City. Many outdoor companies, like backcountry.com and Skullcandy, have their main offices here. The city has lots of shops, clubs, bars, and restaurants. Nearby, you can find reservoirs, hot springs, forests, and great hiking and biking trails.
In summer, many people from nearby valleys visit Park City. They come to escape the heat. Park City is usually cooler than Salt Lake City. This is because it sits higher, mostly above 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above sea level. Salt Lake City is about 4,300 feet (1,300 m) high.
In 2011, Park City was named a Gold-level Ride Center. This award from the International Mountain Bicycling Association recognized its amazing mountain bike trails. Park City Municipal and Basin Recreation help manage these trails.
Local news in Park City comes from The Park Record, which is Utah's oldest non-daily paper. There's also TownLift, an online news source, and KPCW, a local NPR radio station.
Contents
History of Park City
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Early Mormon pioneers traveled through this area. One leader, Parley P. Pratt, explored the canyon in 1848. He built a toll road through it by 1849. The basin at the top of the canyon was perfect for grazing animals. A few families settled there. The area was first called "Parley's Park City." This name was shortened to "Park City" when the town officially became a city in 1884.
The first discovery of ore here was by soldiers. They were led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor. He encouraged his men to look for minerals. They found silver, gold, and lead in the 1860s. This started the first silver mines in Park City. Many prospectors came, setting up camps around the mountains. This led to the first mining towns. The Ontario silver mine, found in 1872, became a major producer. George Hearst quickly bought it.
Another important mining family was the Ferry family. William Montague Ferry Jr. moved to Utah already very wealthy. He had been a Colonel in the Union Army and a mayor. Other wealthy people from Michigan followed him. The Ferry family owned many mines, including the Marsac Silver Mining Company and the Silver King Coalition Mines. Colonel Ferry also gave land for Westminster College.
In 1880, a train line was built to the Echo station. By 1892, the Silver King Mine became one of the most famous silver mines. Its owners were Thomas Kearns and David Keith. Many miners from around the world came to Park City. The town grew with lots of miners and wealth. But by the 1950s, the town almost became a ghost town. This was partly because the price of silver dropped.
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A big fire almost destroyed the town in 1898. In 1902, another sad event happened. An explosion in the Daly West Mine killed 34 miners.
Park City became a ski town because silver prices fell after World War I, during the Great Depression, and after World War II. The mining community never fully recovered. So, the town turned to skiing. Miners suggested building a ski resort called Treasure Mountain. United Park City Mines, who owned the land, got a grant to develop it. Treasure Mountains, now Park City Mountain Resort, opened in 1963. It was built on 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land the miners owned. This was when tourists really started to visit Park City. It marked the start of the ski industry, strongly supported by Utah's government.
Since skiing and tourism grew, Park City now hosts more tourists than residents. It became famous after the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In the 1950s, Utah started promoting Park City as a mountain getaway. A campaign called "Ski Utah" and "The Greatest Snow on Earth" helped bring many people to the city. In 1970, Utah had over 648,000 tourists. Now, it has an average of 4 million tourists each year. Park City, with a population of 8,000, gets about 600,000 tourists yearly. This big increase is thanks to promotional efforts. Park City has become one of the richest resort towns in the U.S.
In 2012, travel and tourism brought $7.4 billion to Utah. It also created $960.6 million in state and local taxes. Tourism made up 5.8% of Utah's total economy that year. Park City gets over 3 million visitors each year. About 1.6 million visit in winter and 1.4 million in summer. Visitors spend an average of $100 to $350 per night. Today, Park City mainly relies on tourism. This includes skiing, restaurants, hiking, and biking. The city's transformation has created a culture of spending, adventure, and wealth. This is often shown in their promotions.
Even today, there are over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of old silver mine tunnels under the ski slopes. On Main Street, 64 Victorian buildings are listed as historic places. You can still see many old mine buildings, shafts (most are blocked off), and hoists. These include parts of the California-Comstock and Silver King Mines. Water towers once used for the Silver King mine also remain. They show the history of this mining town that became a ski resort.
Geography
Park City covers about 17.567 square miles (45.50 km2) of land. It is located at the south end of Snyderville Basin. The city climbs up steep mountains to the southeast, south, and west. You can get to Park City by State Route 224 from Interstate 80. You can also use State Route 248 (Kearns Boulevard). This road goes east to U.S. Route 40 and then to Kamas.
North of Park City, through the Snyderville Basin, there's a low area. McLeod Creek is on the west side, and Silver Creek is on the east side.
Climate
Summers in Park City are warm, with cool nights. Winters are cold and snowy. The city has a humid continental climate. This means it has four distinct seasons. Higher parts of the city might have a subalpine or alpine climate.
| Climate data for Park City, Utah, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1896–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 64 (18) |
62 (17) |
71 (22) |
86 (30) |
91 (33) |
101 (38) |
100 (38) |
95 (35) |
91 (33) |
82 (28) |
71 (22) |
62 (17) |
101 (38) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 48.1 (8.9) |
50.3 (10.2) |
59.5 (15.3) |
69.1 (20.6) |
77.8 (25.4) |
85.4 (29.7) |
90.3 (32.4) |
87.7 (30.9) |
82.9 (28.3) |
72.6 (22.6) |
60.4 (15.8) |
49.3 (9.6) |
90.5 (32.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 32.7 (0.4) |
34.9 (1.6) |
43.0 (6.1) |
51.0 (10.6) |
61.1 (16.2) |
72.4 (22.4) |
80.4 (26.9) |
78.4 (25.8) |
68.8 (20.4) |
56.0 (13.3) |
42.2 (5.7) |
33.1 (0.6) |
54.5 (12.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 24.1 (−4.4) |
25.9 (−3.4) |
34.2 (1.2) |
41.0 (5.0) |
49.5 (9.7) |
59.1 (15.1) |
66.6 (19.2) |
65.1 (18.4) |
55.8 (13.2) |
44.7 (7.1) |
32.8 (0.4) |
24.6 (−4.1) |
43.6 (6.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 15.6 (−9.1) |
16.9 (−8.4) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
31.1 (−0.5) |
37.9 (3.3) |
45.7 (7.6) |
52.9 (11.6) |
51.8 (11.0) |
42.8 (6.0) |
33.3 (0.7) |
23.3 (−4.8) |
16.1 (−8.8) |
32.7 (0.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −4.7 (−20.4) |
−3.1 (−19.5) |
6.0 (−14.4) |
15.6 (−9.1) |
23.8 (−4.6) |
31.2 (−0.4) |
39.9 (4.4) |
38.4 (3.6) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
16.8 (−8.4) |
2.5 (−16.4) |
−2.7 (−19.3) |
−8.5 (−22.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −28 (−33) |
−28 (−33) |
−23 (−31) |
−4 (−20) |
12 (−11) |
11 (−12) |
21 (−6) |
20 (−7) |
8 (−13) |
6 (−14) |
−11 (−24) |
−30 (−34) |
−30 (−34) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.25 (57) |
1.82 (46) |
1.83 (46) |
2.17 (55) |
2.22 (56) |
1.38 (35) |
1.02 (26) |
1.44 (37) |
1.81 (46) |
2.35 (60) |
2.05 (52) |
2.05 (52) |
22.39 (568) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 26.6 (68) |
22.2 (56) |
15.5 (39) |
10.0 (25) |
2.3 (5.8) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.5 (1.3) |
3.2 (8.1) |
17.4 (44) |
23.3 (59) |
121.2 (306.71) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 21.6 (55) |
22.9 (58) |
16.4 (42) |
3.7 (9.4) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
1.8 (4.6) |
6.6 (17) |
14.3 (36) |
27.4 (70) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 9.2 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 8.6 | 6.1 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 94.7 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 9.5 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 43.7 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Population of Park City
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 164 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,542 | 840.2% | |
| 1890 | 2,850 | 84.8% | |
| 1900 | 3,759 | 31.9% | |
| 1910 | 3,439 | −8.5% | |
| 1920 | 3,393 | −1.3% | |
| 1930 | 4,281 | 26.2% | |
| 1940 | 3,739 | −12.7% | |
| 1950 | 2,254 | −39.7% | |
| 1960 | 1,366 | −39.4% | |
| 1970 | 1,193 | −12.7% | |
| 1980 | 2,823 | 136.6% | |
| 1990 | 4,468 | 58.3% | |
| 2000 | 7,341 | 64.3% | |
| 2010 | 7,558 | 3.0% | |
| 2020 | 8,396 | 11.1% | |
| source: | |||
In 2016, about 8,299 people lived in Park City full-time. Most residents (78.8%) were non-Hispanic White. About 16.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.
Park City in 2010
In 2010, there were 7,558 people living in the city. There were 2,885 households. About 26.8% of these households had children under 18. Almost half (48.4%) were married couples. The average household had 2.6 people.
The age breakdown was:
- 23.0% were under 20 years old.
- 30.7% were between 25 and 44 years old.
- 30.4% were between 45 and 64 years old.
- 8.5% were 65 years or older.
The average age was 37.4 years.
Arts and Culture
Fun Things to Do
Park City has many exciting places to visit:
- Park City Mountain Resort
- Canyons Village at Park City
- Deer Valley Resort
- Woodward Park City
- The Utah Olympic Park (with the Alf Engen Ski Museum and Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum)
- The Park City Museum
- The Eccles Center Theater
- An outlet mall for shopping
- Main Street, with shops and restaurants
- Hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails
The resorts and Olympic Park offer activities all year round.
Events and Festivals
Park City is famous for hosting the Sundance Film Festival. This big film event takes place mainly on Main Street. Movies are shown in many different places around Park City.
Each year, Park City also hosts the Kimball Arts Festival. About 50,000 visitors usually come to this art event. The city has two parades every year. One is on July Fourth, which brings visitors from all over Utah. The other is on Labor Day, called Miners' Day, and is more for local people.
Park City was a co-host for the 2002 Winter Olympics with Salt Lake City. Park City is also usually the finish line for the last part of the Tour of Utah road bike race.
Education
The Park City School District serves most of Park City. Park City High School is located at 1752 Kearns Blvd. This school district is a medium size in Utah, with over 4,500 students. About 17% of its students are from ethnic minority groups, mostly Hispanic. The high school offers classes in film and TV production. It also hosts "The Miner Film Festival" each year. Students can enter their films and show them at the Eccles Center.
A small part of Park City is in Wasatch County. Students there go to schools in the Wasatch School District.
The Park City Library is also in Park City. It has many interesting things to see and do.
Park City is home to the Swaner EcoCenter. This center also works with Utah State University for learning and distance education.
Getting Around Park City
Park City has its own free bus system. This system helps people get around the city. It also offers some service to nearby areas in Summit and Wasatch County. The bus routes go to places like:
- Canyons Village
- Deer Valley Resort
- Empire Pass
- Jeremy Ranch Park & Ride lot
- Kimball Junction
- Park City Resort
- Park Meadows
- Pinebrook
- Prospector Square
- Silver Lake Village
- Silver Springs
- Silver Summit/Highland Estates
- Thaynes Canyon
You can also take a bus between Park City and Salt Lake City using High Valley Transit's route 107.
Famous People from Park City
- Haley Batten: professional mountain biker and Olympian
- Ken Block: founder of DC Shoes, rally car driver
- Rosie Brennan: Olympic cross-country skier
- Ashley Caldwell: Olympic freestyle skier
- Brett Camerota: Olympic silver medalist in Nordic combined
- Joss Christensen: first Olympic gold medalist in ski Slopestyle
- Jade Chynoweth: actress and dancer
- Virginia Cutler: educator
- Casey Dawson: Olympic bronze medalist in speedskating
- Gregg Deal: Artist
- Bill Demong: Olympic gold and silver medalist in Nordic combined
- Dusty Dvorak: Olympic gold medalist in volleyball
- Mark Eaton: professional basketball player for Utah Jazz
- Bill Engvall: comedian
- Stein Eriksen: Olympic gold and silver medalist in Alpine skiing
- Bud Feltman: Olympian in luge
- Edward Payson Ferry: Mining leader, Park City settler
- William Montague Ferry Jr.: Politician, mining leader, and Park City settler
- Brandon Flowers: lead singer of The Killers
- Edward J. Fraughton: sculptor, inventor
- John W. Gallivan: publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune
- Alex Hall: Winter X Games gold medalist and Olympic freestyle skier
- Tanner Hall: Freeskier and multiple Winter X Games medalist
- Phil L. Hansen: former Utah attorney general
- William Jefferson Hardin: black legislator
- George Hearst: mining business leader, U.S. Senator
- Eric Heiden: winner of five Olympic speed skating gold medals
- Sarah Hendrickson: Olympic ski jumper, first woman in an Olympic Games for this sport
- Steven Holcomb: Olympic gold medalist in bobsled
- Whitney Jensen: ballet dancer
- Jessica Jerome: Olympic ski jumper, first woman to qualify for an Olympic Games in this event
- Thomas Kearns: U.S. Senator, owner of Silver King Coalition Mining Co.
- Sage Kotsenburg: first Olympic gold medalist in Snowboard Slopestyle
- Ted Ligety: Olympic gold medalist in Alpine skiing
- Mike Massey: professional pool player
- Danny Masterson: actor
- Roger I. McDonough: Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice
- Megan McJames: Olympic slalom skier
- Jim Nantz: sportscaster
- Madison Olsen: Olympic freestyle skier
- Hal Prewitt: racecar driver and businessman
- Matthew Prince: co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare
- Elli Reed: professional soccer player
- William Rhoads: Olympic ski jumper
- Abby Ringquist: Olympic ski jumper
- Mitt Romney: former Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator
- Summer Sanders: Olympic gold medalist in swimming
- John Schnatter: businessman and founder of Papa John's Pizza
- Barry Sims: NFL offensive lineman
- Will Smith: actor
- John Terry: actor
- Roger J. Traynor: Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court
- Ronnie Vannucci Jr.: drummer from The Killers
- McRae Williams: Olympic freestyle skier
- Montel Williams: television actor
- Treat Williams: actor
- Bradley Wilson: Olympic mogul skier
- Bryon Wilson: Olympic bronze medalist in Mogul skiing
- Scott Wolf: television and film actor
Sister Cities
- Courchevel (Savoy), France
See also
In Spanish: Park City (Utah) para niños
